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Personal Umbrella insurance has flown under the radar for years, providing peace of mind for a modest and reliable premium. Filings and rate increases for the product began to climb gradually in 2019, as we noted in a previous article, though few took notice at the time. Lately, however, the product has received national attention, while policyholders have been shocked to receive renewal notices announcing significant premium increases.
In July 2024 The Wall Street Journal published an article dedicated to this unsung hero, declaring, “The increase in umbrella claims has led some insurance companies to raise premiums and be less likely to grant higher limits”.1 A Reddit search reveals forums full of perplexed personal umbrella policyholders sharing their rate increases and seeking the reasons why.
Why is this seldom-discussed insurance product suddenly garnering so much publicity and raising the interest of policyholders?
The U.S. Personal Umbrella market generates $6.6 billion of premium, which is less than 1% of the roughly $1 trillion of P&C direct premium written in 2024.2 For many companies Personal Umbrella is a drop in the bucket, its results far outweighed by those of larger lines of business. Why, then, have average approved Personal Umbrella rate increases jumped in magnitude and quantity between 2015 and 2025, with several carriers filing for double-digit − and in some cases triple-digit − increases?
According to our recent conversation with William Wilt, President of Assured Research, Personal Umbrella as a standalone product doesn’t need to be profitable. It adds value even when losing money because it’s often bundled with other products, helping to increase overall customer retention. Recent filings, however, suggest that companies do have a loss ratio threshold that is being exceeded. As stated in Assured Research’s May 2025 Assured Briefing, “The ’24 CR [combined ratio] for the line is around 200% driven in part by adverse development amounting to 55 loss ratio points.”3
These poor results are not isolated to just a few states. For the two largest Personal Umbrella insurers the loss ratios are exceptionally high almost everywhere.4
The product’s results are usually blended with those of auto or home, so it usually doesn’t stand on its own. As a result, the product has been neglected. Meanwhile, attorneys have become increasingly adept at selecting cases with higher available limits, sometimes simply by googling someone’s socio-economic status.
As with other challenged casualty lines of business, transparency in litigation funding and pressure on attorneys will help. But “…the product is fundamentally underpriced at an average cost of $400‑$500 (or so) for $1 million.”5 Buyers of Personal Umbrella are telling insurers that they are risk averse, they have assets they want to protect, and they care about protecting them. There are no substitutes for a Personal Umbrella. Therefore, insurers should not lose sleep over raising their Personal Umbrella premiums. Experience indicates doing so is necessary.
Insurers who have not recently reviewed the rates, increased limit factors, minimum premiums, and risk selection criteria of their Personal Umbrella product should do so now. We also suggest examining claims practices to ensure challenging personal umbrella claims benefit from adequate attention and management.
Please reach out to me or your Gen Re representative to learn more.
William Wilt is President at Assured Research, LLC. He has a substantial and wide-ranging background in numerous facets of insurance research, operations, finance, consulting, and the capital markets, as well as analytical expertise from a credit and equity perspective as well as substantial securities and corporate valuation experience. Gen Re is appreciative of his knowledge-sharing with our clients.
Assured Research is a research and advisory firm dedicated to delivering differentiated and actionable research and analysis to insurance professionals. Assured Research marries rich industry experience, extensive industry relationships, and independence to deliver unique insights.
